Over the next few weeks, we will be celebrating 10 years of UrbanPromise Charlotte by looking at where we’ve been as a community, where we are today, and where we are going next. We hope you feel a swell of pride as you read about the tangible difference your giving has made possible.
Every weekday afternoon at 3:15 PM, something special happens.
At all four UrbanPromise Charlotte sites around the city, our StreetLeaders gather in a circle for our “Pre-Camp” meeting before our younger students arrive. UrbanPromise staff members and StreetLeaders check-in with one another. Staff members share a few words of inspiration and direction. StreetLeaders prepare their hearts and minds to lead.
During Pre-Camp one sunny afternoon in early October, the StreetLeaders at our South Boulevard site (“Camp Joy”) were asked to repeat a simple sentence aloud:
“I am here because of the courageous leadership of those who went before me,” they repeated in unison.
This simple sentence carried particular weight that afternoon.
Most of the StreetLeaders around the circle had grown up at UrbanPromise as campers.
Two StreetLeaders in the circle were actually kindergarten students 10 years ago during the very first year of UrbanPromise Charlotte.
All of the StreetLeaders around the circle could trace their presence at UrbanPromise back to our original group of StreetLeaders.
Ten years ago, driven by the belief that Charlotte’s teenagers could be leaders of change in their neighborhoods both now and in the future, we hired our first 16 StreetLeaders in the fall of 2013. They quickly embraced their role as mentors, role models, and tutors for younger students — living examples of faith in action. Their courageous leadership was the initial spark to the UrbanPromise Charlotte community.
On this particular sunny afternoon in early October, one of the original 16 StreetLeaders (Emi) had returned to Camp Joy to visit and reminisce about the 10-year anniversary of UrbanPromise Charlotte. Emi, who is now a completing a PhD program at the University of South Carolina, had a message for her former-campers-turned-StreetLeaders:
“I’m proud of you,” Emi began. “You are creating future leaders. It’s absolutely powerful [for me] to see. And I’m really excited for you to get to see your ‘little nuggets’ grow and for you to be proud of them.”
This is how the UrbanPromise model works. The courageous leadership of each new class of StreetLeaders inspires and makes room for a new generation of courageous leaders to emerge. A community of young leaders is formed, united by the goal of making a difference in their city.
As we look back at where we’ve been during the last ten years, I’m filled with awe and gratitude for what you’ve helped create during this first decade of UrbanPromise Charlotte.
Today, your support allows over 600 children, youth, and young adults to grow and develop through our continuum of out-of-school-time programs, StreetLeader Program, and Alumni Support Program. And, ultimately, you allow us to invest in leaders like Emi – young leaders who, motivated by their faith, are determined to be servant leaders and change agents in their communities.
Thank you for believing in the vision of UrbanPromise — to reach children, raise leaders, and restore community — and for helping bring that vision to life.
Watch this three-minute video below, which celebrates the first 10 years of UrbanPromise Charlotte and includes clips from Emi’s visit back to Camp Joy!
Watch this extended conversation between Emi (a founding StreetLeader) and Jimmy (our founding executive director) as they reflect on the early days of UrbanPromise Charlotte and what the past ten years have meant to them.